SAFEGUARDING & CHILD PROTECTION
SAFEGUARDING & CHILD PROTECTION
Working together to keep your children safe
Ensuring that your child feels safe, secure, and supported at school is our highest priority.
All staff at St. Columba’s receive regular safeguarding training, ensuring they remain up to date with the latest policies, guidance, and best practices. This includes learning from Serious Case Reviews to continually improve our procedures and awareness.
Training is delivered by our trusted safeguarding advisors, Clennell Education Solutions, as well as by our in-school Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) – the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher, and other trained members of staff.
In addition, select members of our Governing Body and Senior Leadership Team complete Safer Recruitment training. This ensures that all recruitment processes include rigorous safeguarding checks, helping us to appoint the right people to work with our children.
At St. Columba’s, safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. We are committed to maintaining a culture of vigilance, openness, and care—so that every child can learn, grow, and thrive in a safe environment.
Designated Safeguarding Lead:
Mrs R Steinmetz- Headteacher
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads:
Mrs N Maddison – Deputy Headteacher
Mrs C Harman – SENDCo (currently on maternity leave for 2025/26)
Mrs C Harris - EYFS Lead
Members of the Local Governing Body:
Mr P. Dinsley – Chair of Governors
Mr D. O’Connor – Safeguarding Link Governor
At St. Columba’s, safeguarding is a shared responsibility, and we take every step to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all members of our school community.
Our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) receive regular, termly training and updates to ensure they are fully informed about current legislation, guidance, and best practice.
All staff use CPOMS, our secure electronic system, to record and monitor safeguarding concerns. This allows us to respond quickly, effectively, and in line with our safeguarding procedures.
If you ever have a concern about the safety or wellbeing of a child, or about site security, please report it immediately to a member of staff. We will always take your concerns seriously and act promptly to ensure the safety of everyone in our care.
OPERATION ENCOMPASS
What is Operation Encompass?
The purpose of Operation Encompass is to safeguard and support children and young people who have been involved in a domestic abuse incident. Following an incident at home, children will often arrive at school distressed, upset and unprepared for the day.
North Tyneside Council, the police and nominated Key Adults in school will be working together to make sure that school staff are made aware of an incident early enough to support pupils in school.
Why is Operation Encompass being introduced in North Tyneside?
Operation Encompass was initially launched in Plymouth in February 2011 to address a shortcoming in the early sharing of information with schools. Since then several pilots have been set up across the UK, including Gateshead and South Tyneside, and has proved to very successful in providing appropriate support in a timely manner. Pilots across the UK have reported positive outcomes for many children and young people.
North Tyneside Council, Northumbria Police and all schools in the borough will be taking part in the scheme, to help provide additional new support which will benefit children and young people in North Tyneside and improve multi-agency sharing of information.
How will it work?
Schools across North Tyneside will nominate at least two members of staff who will be known as Key Adults. All Key Adults will attend specific training to the role in preparation for Operation Encompass.
Each morning a police officer will review all domestic abuse incidents that occur outside of school but which might have had an impact on a child attending school the following day. Where children were present, witnessed or involved in a domestic abuse incident and aged between 4 and 16 years old, the officer will send this information to Children’s Social Care Front Door Service.
Staff from the Front Door Service will send this information in a secure format to the identified Key Adult. The Key Adult will check their emails every day and the staff in contact with those pupils will then be in an informed position to support them in a way that is right for the child.
OPERATION ENDEAVOUR
Our school is also part of the Operation Endeavour project.
Operation Endeavour aims to support children and young people who go missing from home. Children who go missing from home are at risk of significant harm and they may be vulnerable to Child Criminal Exploitation. As a result, following any report of a child going missing to the Police, the Police will make contact with Children’s Social Care who will then communicate relevant and necessary information to nominated school staff.
Each school has members of staff (key adults) who have been trained in liaising with the Police and Children’s Social Care when required, and will ensure that the necessary support is made available to the child of young person following their return.
If you would like to speak to someone further about the project or require additional information please speak to one of the key adults listed above.
THE FRONT DOOR SERVICE
At St Columba's, we work alongside North Tyneside Safeguarding Children Partnership. Any concerns about a child or a family are reported to the Front Door service. The Front Door Service provides access to all services for children and families in North Tyneside. It is our duty to report concerns about the safety or welfare of a child and the Front Door Service is the first point of contact. If you have concerns about a child, and do not feel comfortable contacting school, anyone can contact the Front Door Service by calling 0345 2000 109.
PREVENT
St Columba's staff have all had Prevent training. Prevent is part of the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST) and is designed to safeguard vulnerable people and communities from the threat of radicalisation and being drawn into terrorism. The focus of prevent in North Tyneside is: To keep children and adults safe from being drawn into terrorism. Any concerns about children or family are reported online.
ONLINE SAFETY
We are committed to teaching children how to stay safe online in the modern world. The breadth of issues classified within online safety is considerable, but they can be categorised into four areas of risk: Content, contact, conduct, commerce. Please see our Online Safety Policy and ProjectEvolve curriculum map for further information.